Wolf Man
by Rangerfan2012
Summary: Stephanie is determined to have a nice Halloween, even if her love life refuses to cooperate. When she meets a guy in costume, he sparks her interest. Does she know him or is he someone new? Could he just be a normal, nice guy or could he turn into her next stalker?
1. Chapter 1

The characters belong to JE. I receive nothing from this, but it sure is fun.

Chapter 1

SPOV

_Two days before Halloween_

I sat in the floor of my apartment watching Ghostbusters and sorting the Halloween Candy. Okay, maybe I was eating the candy instead of sorting it. I had planned on picking out a few of my favorite candy and taking the rest to my mom's house so that she and my Grandma Mazur could hand it out to trick-or-treaters. I made the mistake of letting my mind wander to the two men in my life, Joe Morelli and Ricardo Carlos Manoso, street name Ranger. Personally, I prefer to call him Carlos. Unfortunately, I'm not brave enough to call him that to his face. Ranger is my mentor, teacher, best friend, an on very rare occasion, lover. Ranger is a Cuban American and the most beautiful man I've ever laid eyes on. He is former Special Forces and currently owns Rangeman, a security company that I occasionally work for. Anyway, the next thing I know the bags of Kit Kats, Nerds, and Sweet tarts were empty and I was feeling sick.

My name is Stephanie Plum. I work as a bounty hunter for my perverted cousin, Vinnie. As far as my bounty hunting skills, I have none. I hate my gun and on the few occasions that I carry it with me, I usually forget to load it. Forgetting to load which would probably be okay if I could ever remembered to charge my stun gun. Despite my lack of abilities, I have an hundred percent capture rate. I'm proud of my capture rate, but it's only that high because the majority of my Failure to Appears are over 80 years old and use a walker. I still end up cover is garbage on a almost daily basis.

My thoughts return to my relationships, or should I say lack thereof, with Joe and Ranger. I am distracted from my thoughts by a knock on my apartment door.

"Cupcake!" I know you're in there. I can hear you television." I hear from the other side of my apartment door.

I roll my eyes. I'm really not in the mood to deal with Joe tonight. Joe Morelli is my on-again/off-again boyfriend. Currently Joe and I are in the off phase and I plan on keeping it that way. Joe wants me to quit my job to be his housewife and mother to a bunch of little Morellis. The thought of that makes me break out in hives.

I stand up, walk over to my door, and let Joe in. He's carrying a take-out bag from Pino's. Pino's has the best meatball subs in the world. Unfortunately, I'm so full of candy that I the smell of Pino's is overwhelming and making me sick.

"Cupcake, I brought dinner." Joe says holding up the bag of take-out.

I instantly turn green and take off running to the bathroom, where I lose every bit of candy that I stuffed myself with. I'm still praying to the porcelain god when Joe walks in to hold my hair away from my face.

"Please tell me that you didn't eat all of the candy on the coffee table today, Cupcake."

"Try the last hour." I say standing up and walking over to the bathroom sink, feeling much better. I grab my toothbrush and begin brushing my teeth.

"No wonder you got sick." Joe laughs. "I guess that means that I get to eat your meatball sub."

"Think again, Morelli. I never turn down Pino's." I say rinsing off my toothbrush. "Why are you here, Joe? And before you answer that question, I should warn you that if you tell me that the boys miss me, you can just leave now. But don't even think about taking the Pino's with you."

"I…uh….well, the boys do miss you, but that's not why I'm here." Jow says shifting his weight from one side to the other, like a little boy in trouble for throwing a baseball through the neighbors window. "Can we go back into the living room and talk? This is not a conversation that I want to have in your bathroom."

"Sounds serious."

Joe swipes his hand over his face. "It is serious, Cupcake."

I follow Joe into my living room. As soon as we sit on the couch, I grab the Pino's bag and pull out a sub, before handing the bag to Joe. Joe sits the bag on the coffee table instead of taking his sub out.

"I don't know how you can eat so soon after getting sick." Joe comments, shaking his head.

"It's Pino's." I say, simply. "Well, whatever you have to say, it must be serious. You're not eating your sub." I stop to think for a moment. "Oh my God, Joe! Are you dying?"

"No Cupcake, I'm not dying. You may want to kill me after I tell you what I need to say."

"Why would I want to kill you?" I ask.

"Terry's pregnant." Joe says putting his hands up over his face like he's trying to protect himself.

"So?" I ask before taking another bit of my sub.

Joe waits until I swallow before he continues, "It's mine."

"Oh, Thank God!" I say before taking another bite of my sub.

Joe lowers his hands. "You're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad? You always wanted a wife and kids and we both know that I'm not cut out to be a wife and mother, at least not as this point in my life. I'm happy for you, Joe. How far long is Terry?" Joe and I broke up about a month ago, so Terry is probably just a couple of weeks along.

"I…uh…see this is where you're going to get mad. Terry is two months along." Joe explains.

"Two months? Joe, we were together two months ago."

"Cupcake, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. It happened the night of Carl Constanza brother's bachelor party. We were all at Sky Night Club. I was already drunk by the time Terry arrived. I remember Terry walking in and the next thing I remember is waking up in her bed the next morning. I don't remember anything in between. I asked Carl if he remember what happened and he said that I told them that I was headed up to the bar to get another beer, but I never came back. They have no idea that I went home with Terry."

"Joe, you need to leave." I tell him quietly.

Joe doesn't argue, instead he stands up and walks over to my door. Just before he leaves, he turns around. "You have every right to be upset, Cupcake. I hope that one day you will be able to forgive me."

"Maybe… one day… but not today." I tell him

"I understand. Maybe you and Manoso can work something out." Joe says before turning to leave.

Once the door shuts, I walk over to lock it. I turn around and lean against the door, before sliding down to the floor. Talk to my empty apartment, I say "There's one problem with that. Ranger has made it clear that he doesn't want me.

**A/N: I plan on updating tomorrow.**


	2. Chapter 2

The characters belong to JE. I receive nothing from this, but it sure is fun.

Chapter 2

SPOV

_The Day before Halloween_

The next morning, I picked up a dozen Boston Crème donuts at the Tasty Pastry before heading over to the Bonds office. I had barely cleared the front door to the Bonds office when Lula ripped the boxes of donuts from my hands.

"It's about time you got here, White Girl. We still need to decide on costumes for the Halloween party at El Diablo tomorrow night." Lula said as she stuffed a donut into her mouth. Lula is a plus size woman with an even bigger personality. Somehow she's able to squeeze herself into size 2 spandex. Today she was wearing an electric blue mini-dress with 5 inch matching FMPs. She completed her look with matching blue hair and a white jacket covered in feathers. Lula used to be a ho, but left the streets to be a file clerk for my cousin Vinnie. She occasionally helps me pick up FTAs. She has done a great job of turning her life around. Unfortunately, when she left her old life behind, she forgot to leave the wardrobe.

"We can't decide what to dress up for Halloween, so we decided to write a bunch of different ideas down and draw for a hat. You okay with that?" Connie Rossoli asked. Connie is the office manager at the Bonds office. I think that Vinnie hired her because she comes from a well known "Family" and no one will mess with her. As long as she keeps her upper lip waxed she is a dead ringer for Betty Boop.

"Sounds good." I agree. I've been trying to decide on a costume for weeks now. The last three years, I've dressed up as Wonder Woman, so I think that it's time for a change.

We spent the next fifteen minutes listing every possible costume that we could think of. Lula was in charge of writing everything down, while Connie folded everything and dropped the papers in a hat. I was perfectly content to sit here and eat my donuts.

Connie was the first to draw. She smiles, "A nurse. Maybe I can find someone to play doctor with tomorrow night."

"Alright my turn." Lula announces as she sticks her hand in the hat. "Looks like I'm going to be a Racecar Driver. I'll make one fine sexy racecar driver, but I refuse to mess up my hair by wearing a helmet. All right, White Girl, it's your turn."

I reached in and pulled out a slip of paper. "I need to draw again." I announce reaching for the hat.

Connie quickly grabs the hat and holds it out of my reach. "No way! You have to wear whatever is on that paper. What did you pick?"

"Little Red Riding Hood." I sigh. I was about to argue why I shouldn't have to dress up as a fairy tale character when the back of my neck started tingling. I turned to see Ranger standing behind me. "Hi, Ranger. When did you get back?"

"About an hour ago." Ranger glances at Connie. "He in?"

"Enter at your own risk." Connie says gesturing towards Vinnie's office door. "I haven't heard any moaning or animal noises from his office in over an hour. It should be safe."

Ranger knocks on Vinnie's door, and then disappears inside. Connie and Ranger came to an agreement a couple of years ago. If Connie hears animal noises or moaning coming from Vinnie's office at any time prior to Ranger's arrival, Connie will warn him so that he can knock before he enters. Otherwise, Ranger will go in without knocking first. I'm not sure what happened that caused this arrangement since I haven't asked. I figure if Ranger isn't willing to talk about it, then I definitely don't want to know about it.

"What's wrong with dressing up as Little Red Riding Hood? Afraid Morelli will throw a fit if you dress up in a hot little Little Red Riding Hood costume?" Connie asked.

"Morellit is no longer my problem." I tell her.

"You always say that, but the two of you always get back together." Lula said shaking her head. "I don't why you go back to that cop when you have Batman looking at you like he wants to eat you for lunch."

"Joe is permantly out of the picture. He knocked up Terry Grizzoli." I explain. I conveniently left out the part about how Joe and I were still seeing each other when he got her pregnant. I didn't feel like dealing with the millions of questions they would ask once they found out.

"Oh my God! I heard she was knocked, but I didn't know that it was Morelli that did it. Terry's Uncle Vito is going to kill him." Connie gasps.

"I don't think that Vito will kill Joe. He will probably force them to get married. Terry will be thrilled. But marrying into the mob may kill Joe's career. It can't look good for a police detective to be married to a mob princess." I shrug. "Do you have any files for me?"

"Three. Mooner and Dougie forgot to show up for their court date again. They got high and decided to take a whole bunch of brownies to the police station to thank them for being so nice the last time they were arrested." Connie explains.

"Awww, that sounds sweet. Why did they get arrested this time?" I asked.

"The brownies were Mooner's _special_ recipe." Connie giggles. Mooner's _special _brownies were actually pot brownies.

"That explains why they were arrested again. Who is the third person?" I asked.

"Gloria Lucas. She was arrested for indecent exposure. Apparently, your grandmother dared her to strip down to her underwear and climb into the fountain at the mall."

"I remember Grandma Mazur telling me about that. She was disappointed that Officer Gaspick didn't arrest her for being an accessory to a crime. Grandma pouted for weeks."

Vinnie's door opened and Ranger walked out. He stopped and looked at me long enough to nod towards the door and say, "Babe," indicating that he wanted to speak with me outside. A few months ago, I would have dropped my files and followed him anywhere, but that was then.

Everyone is under the mistaken impression that Batman doesn't talk, but they couldn't be more wrong. If he trusts you he will open up. Over the last few months he has been opening up to me when we're alone. I have had to listen to him talk about how he could never be in a relationship at this point in his life and how that his government contract can call him away at a moment's notice. Every time we were alone, he would steer the conversation in that direction. It didn't take me long to get the hint. He once told me his love come with a condom, not a ring. In other words, he doesn't want me except for an occasional roll in the hay. Today was the first time I had seen him is six weeks. He went in the wind a few weeks before Joe and I broke up.

"Not today, Ranger. Connie, Lula, and I are in the middle of something. If you want to talk, I can run by Rangeman later this week." I offered.

For a brief second Ranger looks like I slapped him, he quickly recovers and his blank face slams down on his face. "Have it your way, Babe." He says before walking out.

"Am I seeing things, or did you just blow off Batman?" Lula asks.

"I told him that I would talk to him later this week." I said simple. "Do you want to go with me to pick up Mooner and Dougie?"

"There's a Star Trek marathon on today. You're going to be stuck at Mooner's all day. I'd rather do shopping for our costumes. Do you want me to pick up yours?" Lula offers.

Lula was right. I'm going to be stuck at Mooner's all day watching Star Trek. If I didn't need the money to pay for my costume I would go wait a few days to bring them in. At least with Mooner and Dougie it was like a two for one. Gloria would probably make things difficult just so she could have a good story to tell the ladies down at the Clip-N-Curl.

"Fine." I agree, reluctantly. "You can pick out my costume, as long as you promise not to get anything that's too revealing."

"I'll get you something nice and classy, White Girl." Lula promised.

I decided to head over to Mooner's when the phone on Connie's desk started ringing. I waved good-bye and headed out to my current POS car, a 2002 Dodge Neon. It was silver with the exception of the green passenger door. The paint was faded and it was very pretty, but the engine ran good and I didn't have to worry about breaking down. As I started my car, I couldn't help but worry about what kind of costume that Lula would come up with for me to wear.


	3. Chapter 3

The characters belong to JE. I receive nothing from this, but it sure is fun.

Chapter 3

SPOV

_Halloween Day_

I wonder if Vinnie with bond me out if I kill Lula. I should have known better than to trust her to pick out my costume. Right now I'm looking at myself in the mirror and trying to figure out a way of getting out of going to El Diablo tonight. I'm wearing the Little Red Riding Hood that Lula had picked out for me. I really wished that I hadn't loan my Wonder Woman costume to Mary Lou. She was going with her husband Lenny to his office Halloween party. She wanted to borrow my Wonder Woman costume, since Lenny was dressing up as Superman.

My Little Red Riding Hood costume was going to require at least three more coats of mascara before I have the nerve to leave my apartment. Lula had dropped my costume off a few hours earlier but I was in a hurry to go over to my mom's house for dinner. I stay for about an hour handing out candy. Grandma was getting ready for her Halloween party at the Senior Center. She had decided to go as Lady Godiva. She had purchase a flesh tone body suit and a long blond wig that went all the way to the floor. When my mom saw her costume, she threw a fit. I really can't say that I blame her. I may have nightmares about that costume for weeks.

Now it's too late to exchange my costume since the costume shop is closed and I am standing here wear a white lace peasant style crop top and a vinyl black skirt that would need three more inches added to it to qualify as decent. Lula has also purchased black vinyl stiletto boots that came to my knee and a red shear hooded cape that was slightly longer than my skirt. I'm pretty sure that my distraction outfits cover more skin than this costume. If anyone from the 'Burg is at El Diablo tonight, my mom will fill my answering machine with comments like 'Mrs. Dulecki's daughter doesn't go out in public practically naked.

Once I added more layers of mascara, I put on a coat that would cover my costume and left my apartment. It only took me ten minutes to drive to El Diablo. I was supposed to meet Connie and Lula at ten and it was already 9:45. At least I didn't have to worry about waiting in line to get into the club. Rangeman is in charge of the security for special events at the club. Junior and Binkie would be working the front door. Hopefully, they will let me in without insisting on seeing my costume.

No. Such. Luck.

"C'mon, Bomber. As soon as you show us your costume, we'll let you in." Junior smirked.

"No!" I argued.

"Your costume can't be that bad. You can show us now or you can show us later. It's hot inside the club. You can't keep your jacket on all night." Binkie chimed in.

"Fine." I quickly unbuttoned my coat and held it open. "Can I go in now?"

Once Junior and Binkie were able to pick their jaws up off of the sidewalk, Junior said, "If the boss asks, we never saw you in your costume."

"I doubt that Ranger cares what costume I'm wearing."

"We'll have to disagree with you on that. I would rather not die tonight and if Ranger knows that we saw you dressed like that, he may decide to kill us." Binkie adds.

"Whatever. So, can I go in now?"

Junior opened the door for me. As I pass by him, he places his hand on my shoulder. "If any of the guys in there give you any trouble, let us know and we'll take care of them."

"Thanks, Junior. I'm meeting Connie and Lula, so I think that I'll be fine. I appreciate your offer."

"They're in there waiting on you."

It took me about five seconds to find Connie and Lula. Lula was wearing a yellow spandex dress with racing stripes down the side with matching yellow FMPs. Connie was wearing a nurse's uniform that on the average person would look modest, but she looked like her chest was about to spill out of it. She also had on a nurse's hat and red FMPs.

"Lula, I should kill you for picking out this costume." I said sitting down at the table.

"You'll be thanking me later. Since Morelli's out of the picture and you blew off Batman, I figured that you might need a little help finding a man tonight." Lula said.

I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn to see a nice looking man dressed like John Travolta from Saturday Night Fever. "Excuse me, Miss. Would you like to dance?"

"Thank you, but not right now. I just got here and I would like to spend some times with my friends. Maybe later." I smiled.

Once he was gone, Lula said, "See! You've been here five minutes and a guy has already asking you to dance. I knew that outfit would work."

Connie laughed. "How could it not work? Steph's practically naked."

We ordered drinks and sat at the table talking about nothing important. A few more guys had come by the table asking me to dance, but I turned them down. I just wasn't in the mood to dance at the moment. We had just finished our second round of drinks when I felt a tingle on the back of my neck. I looked around to see if I could see Ranger, but I couldn't find him. I dismissed my feeling deciding that the alcohol must be affecting my Ranger radar.

A few minutes later, I felt another tap on my shoulder. I turned to see a well built man wearing a red long sleeve dress shirt, black dress pants, and a wolf mask that completely covered his face. He said nothing as he held out his hand. I don't know why, but I took it, allowing him to guide me out on the dance floor. We said nothing to each other as we danced. After about thirty minutes, I mentioned that I needed something to drink. He led me back to the table were Connie and Lula had been watching us. He held up a finger indicating that I should wait here and he would be right back.

"Who is that man with that gorgeous body?" Connie asked.

"I don't know, but if he comes back tell him, that I went to touch up my make-up and will be right back." I said grabbing my purse and heading for the ladies room. As soon as I got into the ladies room I called Ranger.

"Babe."

"Hey Ranger. You busy?" I asked.

"I'm doing some research for an uncover assignment that I'm working on." He answered. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason, really. I'm at El Diablo with Connie and Lula. I thought I might have saw you inside the club." I explained.

"No, Babe. I can honestly say that I'm not inside El Diablo at the moment."

"Oh…..Okay. I guess I better let you get back to work. I hope you have a Happy Halloween, Ranger."

"Happy Halloween, Babe."

I did a quick touch up of my make-up before heading back out to the table. A couple of minutes after I sit down that man in the wolf mask returns with Margaritas for me, Lula, and Connie.

"Ooo, Margaritas, my favorite. Thanks, Wolfie." Lula says taking a drink.

"You didn't get yourself anything?" I asked.

The Wolf Man shakes his head no.

"Do you live here in Trenton?" Connie asked.

The Wolf Man nods his head yes.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" Lula asked.

This time the Wolf Man shrugs.

We continued to ask the Wolf Man questions which he answers with a series of nods and shrugs.

When most of my drink was finished, the Wolf Man stood up and offered me his hand guiding me back to the dance floor once again. After the second song, I noticed that Tank had showed up dress as a vampire and was dancing with Lula. Connie had found her a cowboy to dance with.

At one point the guy dressed as John Travolta tried to cut in, but quickly backed off when the Wolf Man growled at him.

I spent the rest of the night dancing with Wolf Man. About a half hour before the club closed the Wolf Man disappeared in the crowd. I had too much to drink so I decide to go outside and see if I could find a cab or catch a ride with Junior or Binkie back to my apartment. As soon as I walked outside, Ranger's Turbo pulled up at the club's entrance. Ranger rolled down the window and asked, "Need a ride, Babe?"

I had originally planned on avoiding Ranger as much as possible this week, but since I had already called him once tonight, I decide that accepting a ride couldn't hurt. "Thanks Ranger. That would be nice."

"Hold on, Babe. I come around and get the door for you." Ranger climbed out of the Turbo and ran around to open the door for me. I had to check for drool as he opened the door. He was wearing his Rangeman uniform and he looked absolutely delicious. I had to remind myself, that Ranger had no interest in a relationship with me, so that I could get my hormones in check for the ride back to my apartment.


	4. Chapter 4

The characters belong to JE. I receive nothing from this, but it sure is fun.

Chapter 4

SPOV

_November 1st_

I groaned at the sound of my alarm clock. I don't remember setting my alarm clock last night. I don't even remember coming home last night. The last thing I remember is getting into Ranger's car. I sat up and inhaled the strong scent of Bulgari. That's when I realized that I no longer wearing my costume from last night. I was wearing a men's large black t-shirt. It must have been the one that Ranger was wearing when he picked me, because the scent was fading on all of the Ranger scented t-shirts that I had 'borrowed with no intention of returning'.

I climbed out of bed and walked over to my window overlooks my parking lot. My car had magically appeared some time during the night. I decided to head into my kitchen in search of coffee before I called Ranger to thank him for having my car deliver. I was surprised to find a McDonald's bag, a large coke, and a bag that looked like it was from the Tasty Pastry on my kitchen counter. I knew that the McDonald's bag would have fries to go with the coke that Ranger had left me. I peeked inside the Tasty Pastry Bag and found two Boston Crème donuts. Ranger had to be the one behind this. He's one of the few people that know about 'the cure'. I took 'the cure' into the living room with me, so that I sit on the couch to call Ranger. I really wanted to thank him for going out of his way to take care of me last night and this morning. The call went straight to voice mail so I simply said 'thank you' before hanging up.

It was close to two o'clock by the time I got to the Bond's office. By the look of Connie when I walked in, Connie was still had a hangover from last night.

"Hey Connie!" I said as I entered the office.

"Ssshhh! Not so loud." Connie moaned laying her head on the desk.

"Sorry." I whispered. "Where's Lula?"

"She left the club with Tank last night. She's either with him or at her apartment nursing her hangover. If she and Tank got back together, we probably won't see her for a few days. The last time they got back together we didn't see her for three days." Connie tells me.

"I honestly didn't expect to see you here. I thought that you might take the day off to recover from last night."

"I wanted to, but Vinnie wouldn't let me. He's hiding out for Harry the Hammer again. Vinnie said that Harry caught him with a couple of hookers down on Stark Street last night. Vinnie tried to convince Harry that he was going as a pimp for Halloween and that he hired the hookers as part of his costume, but Harry isn't that stupid. We probably won't see Vinnie until Harry calms down. From what I hear Harry is so mad that it'll probably take a couple of weeks." Connie explains.

"So, who was that cowboy that you were dancing with last night? You certainly looked like you were enjoying each other's company." I grinned.

"We were until I found out who he was and who he worked for." Connie sighed. "It's a shame too, because he was H-O-T, hot."

"Who was he?" I asked.

"Carmine D'Angelo. He's works for the Grizzoli family as an enforcer. Since he works for a different 'Family' than mine, it's not like I could ever take him home to meet my parents. It would be considered a conflict of interest, so we parted ways." Connie explained.

"I'm sorry, Connie. It looked like you really liked him."

"Yeah, I did." Connie said before changing the subject. "Did you ever find out who was behind that wolf mask last night?"

"No, he disappeared about thirty minutes before the club closed. I never got his name. Now that I think about it, I never told him my name either. I'll probably never see him again." What I didn't tell her is that I can't decide if that's a good thing or bad.

"You never know. He may show up again. It's not like you're hard to find. You picture is always in the paper for blowing stuff up. For all you know, he could be sitting on you couch in your apartment right now. It's not like it's hard to get in. A third grader could break into your apartment." Connie giggles.

"I should get mad at you for saying something like that. But since it's true, I'll let it slide this time." I glare at her.

"Okay, not it's time for a serious conversation. How are you doing with this 'Joe going to be a father' thing?" Connie asked.

I sat back in my chair and thought about it for a moment. "Honestly, I'm relieved that it's not me. I'm seriously thinking about send Terry a thank you gift."

A chime on the door alerted us to someone entering the bonds office. I turned in my chair and saw Paulie Mancini walking in. I used to babysit Paulie when he was a preschooler. He just got his driver's license over the summer and now his mom lets him make deliveries for the family's flower shop after school.

"Miss Stephanie, I was hoping that I would find you here." Paulie says. Paulie's mother always insisted that her children address everyone with the title of Mr. or Ms. The first time Paulie called me Ms. Plum, I thought that I was going to have a heart attack. He began calling me Miss Stephanie as a compromise. This way his mom was happy and I didn't feel the need to look around for my mother every time he said 'Ms. Plum'.

Paulie continued, "I am supposed to wait on you here at the Bonds office and follow you home to deliver the flowers to your apartment."

"You could just give them to me here. Then you won't have to follow me back to my apartment." I offered.

"Sorry, Miss Stephanie, I can't do that. The person who ordered the flowers left instructions that I have to make the official delivery to your apartment. If I do as instructed I'll get a 50% tip. I need that money to for the winter formal at school."

I looked over at Connie. "Do you have any files for me?"

"Not today, but I expect you to text me a picture of the flowers and I want to who sent them to you."

"You got it." I said as I left the Bonds office.

Paulie followed me to my apartment building. I offered to carry the flowers up stairs so that he wouldn't have to waste time, but he just laugh and said that he would be right up. I left the door to my apartment open for Paulie. A few minutes later he carried two beautiful crystal vases that each contained a dozen long stemmed red roses.

"Thank you, Paulie. If you wait a minute, I'll get you a tip." I said digging through my purse.

"The tip has been taken care of, Miss Stephanie. If I take money from you, I would feel like I was taken advantage of you. Besides, I'm not done with your delivery." Paulie said walking out of my apartment.

By the time He was done, I had twelve crystal vases, each filled with one dozen long stemmed red roses. A card was attached one of the last vases that Paulie carried in.

_For my Little Red Riding Hood,_

_ A dozen red roses for each hour since I last saw you._

_ Thinking of you, _

_ The Wolf Man_

Okay, so here's the thing. When I dated and married to Dickie, he never bought me flowers of any kind. When I dated Joe, he bought me roses once for Valentine's Day, but they were wilted. I'm pretty sure that he bought them at a convenience store and had a friend of his deliver them. These flowers were a different thing altogether. This 'Wolf Man' was either a hopeless romantic or completely insane. With my luck, he's probably insane.

I used my camera phone to take a picture of all the flowers and sent it to Connie, telling her that the card was signed 'The Wolf Man'. Connie quickly replied back with 'I told you he would find you'.

Before bed I decided to move two of the arrangements to my bedroom. I placed one on my dresser and the other on my night stand, next to the bed.

I started thinking about how I had called Ranger earlier, but he never returned my call. Do I really even want him to call me back? I knew the answer even before I asked myself. Of course I wanted him to call me back. It was probably best that he didn't. I know that I love him, but I really need to try to get that under control since I had no chance of him ever returning those feeling the way I wanted him to.

I grabbed Ranger's shirt and held it up to my face to breathe it in. It still smelled like him. I would pick Ranger's shirt over roses any day of the week. I changed into Ranger's shirt to sleep and crawled into bed. I'm pretty sure that I was asleep before my head reached the pillow.


	5. Chapter 5

The characters belong to JE. I receive nothing from this, but it sure is fun.

Chapter 5

SPOV

_4 a.m., November 2__nd_

I felt him the moment he walked into my bedroom. I had been sleeping peacefully, but the energy changed in the room, causing me to wake up. I was trying to decide between pretending to still be asleep or acknowledging his presence in my bedroom when I heard, "I know you're awake. You breathing pattern changed when I walked in."

I could feel him sit down on the edge of my bed, so I sat up, propping my pillow behind my back. "Nothing gets passed you, Ranger?"

"Not really, but sometimes it takes me a while to see what's right in front of me." He replied.

"What exactly do you meant by that?" I asked.

Ranger chose to ignore my question. Unfortunately, that's not uncommon for Ranger. "Someone sent you roses." It was more of a statement, than a question.

"Yeah." I decided to keep my answers simple. If he could choose to ignore my question, I could at least attempt to be vague with my answers.

"Someone sent you _**a lot**_ of roses." Ranger may not want a relationship with me, but he does care about my safety.

"Before you ask, the answer is no. I don't know who sent them to me. The card was sighed 'The Wolf Man', which is funny because that's what Connie, Lula, and I called him. I'm not sure that we called him that to his face, but Lula called him 'Wolfie' when he bought us drinks."

"Wolfie?" Ranger smirks.

"I met this guy at El Diablo on Halloween night. He wore a wolf mask the entire night." I explained.

"This guy never told you his name?" Ranger questioned.

"He never said a word the entire time we were together at the club. If I asked him a question, he would only nod or shake his head."

"You must have made quite an impression." Ranger commented. "Are you worried that he could be a stalker?"

"I don't think so. This guy might be a little excessive. I mean, a dozen vases with a dozen roses, seems to be a little overkill, don't you think?" I asked. "It seems like such a waste of money."

"Maybe this guy wanted you to know that he really cares about you." Ranger suggested.

"After only one evening of dancing?" I asked attempting to raise one eyebrow and failing. "Let's change the subject. You're still in your uniform. Did Rangeman have a takedown tonight?"

"Louie Allen, he's wanted for serial rape and suspected of murder. When we got to his house he had a woman tied to his bed."

"Oh my God!" I gasped. "Is she okay?"

"Allen hadn't had a chance to do anything but tie her up. Bobby rode with her in the ambulance to the hospital. She's really shook up, but physically she's fine. I can't say the same for Allen. It took both Tank and Lester to pull Hal off of Allen."

"Meek and mild Hal lost control?" I asked. Hal is a gentle giant. Don't get me wrong, he's perfectly capable of defending himself or protecting someone. Hal is extremely level headed and only uses force when it's absolutely necessary.

"Hal's younger sister was raped when she was in college. I think that when he saw that Allen had that girl tied up in his bedroom, it reminded him of what his sister went through. Allen is at the hospital in police custody. He'll be drinking his meals through a straw for a while."

"Is Hal going to be in trouble?"

"The P.D. was just happy that Allen is no longer walking the streets of Trenton. The police report says that Allen is a violent criminal and that force was necessary for the apprehension. If any problems come up the Rangeman lawyers will take care of it. That's what I pay them for. "

"I can tell you've had a long night. You look exhausted."

"I am, Babe."

"Climb in." I sighed as I pulled back the covers on the other side of the bed. "But keep pants on and don't try anything funny."

Ranger quickly pulled off his shirt and removed his boots. Once he climbed into bed, he pulled my back against his chest and said, "Trust me Babe, if I was going to try anything, there would be nothing funny about it."

It only took a few minutes before I heard Ranger's breathing even out. I lay in his arms fighting back tears that were threatening to fall from my eyes. I was trying to understand why he seems to care about me so much, but still doesn't want to have a relationship with me. Finally, I gave up trying and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning I woke up alone in my bed. At first I thought that I had dreamed Ranger coming into my room last night until I noticed that the roses I had placed on my night stand had been moved. Instead of the roses, there was a large cup of coffee, a bag from the Tasty Pastry, and a peach colored rose. There was a note attached to the single long stemmed rose.

_Babe,_

_You were right last night when you said that twelve dozen roses seems a bit excessive. So I decided that I wanted to leave you a single rose and explain its meaning. When someone gives you a peach colored rose, it is way of expressing desire, enthusiasm, and excitement. These are just three of the many ways I feel whenever I am near you. Enjoy your breakfast._

_ Carlos_

Why would Ranger sign his name Carlos? He's never done that before. Does he want me to start calling him Carlos now?

I take the breakfast Carlos left for me and the rose into my kitchen so that I can look for vase. Once I put the rose in a vase, I placed it on my dining room table.

I lost track of time of how long I sat there staring at the rose from Carlos. In all of the time I have known him, he's always ran hot and cold. When I was with Joe, Carlos would steal kisses and intimate touches. But when Joe and I were in an off phase, Carlos would become very distant. It would feel like he was avoiding me. I couldn't help but wonder aloud, "If this mysterious Wolf Man showing interest in me the only reason that Carlos is acting interested now?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The two most annoying sounds in the world before 9 a.m. are alarm clocks and phones ringing. This morning the annoying sound was my cell phone laying on my nightstand. I looked at the time it was just a little passed six a.m. I reached for my phone and mutter, "Someone better be in the hospital or dead."

"Babe."

Ranger! Or Carlos! Oh God! What do I call him? I've always called him Ranger to his face, but he signed the note he left with the rose Carlos. I decided to go with Ranger since he never actually told me to call him Carlos.

"Hi, Ranger." I yawned. "I realize that you have probably been awake for hours, but normal people like to sleep in on Saturday mornings."

Ranger laughed. "I'm sorry to wake you from your beauty sleep, not that you would need it."

Awww! That was sweet! Wait a minute, Ranger was being sweet. Maybe this is the Carlos side of his personality. I shook my head, that thought was too much to process at this time in the morning.

"Babe, are you still there?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm here." I paused for a moment. "But if you're calling to ask me to go running with you, you can forget about it."

Carlos laughed again. "No, Babe. I'm actually about to board the Rangeman jet to Miami. The Miami team had a take down go bad late last night. Two of my men were shot. I'm going down to Miami to check on my men in person and review the tapes from the take down. I want to see exactly what went wrong and if there was a way that it could have been prevented."

Now I feel bad about my 'better be in the hospital or dead' comment.

"Are your men going to be okay?" I asked.

"One was shot in the arm. It was just a flesh wound, so he'll be fine. The other was shot in the leg. He's in surgery now. I'll know more about his condition when I get to Miami." Carlos explains.

"Do you know when you'll be back?"

"Hopefully on Monday. Tuesday at the latest. I may call Rachel and see if I can visit Julie while I'm down there. I wanted to let you know that I was leaving. If you need anything call Tank, Lester, or Bobby while I'm gone."

"Thanks, but it probably won't be necessary. I only have one FTA still out. It's one of Grandma Mazur's friends, Gloria Lucas. I'm pretty sure that the only reason that she went FTA was so she could brag to her friends at the Clip-N-Curl that a bounty hunter was after her." I explained.

"Regardless, if you have any problems, call the guys if you need them."

"Fine." I reluctantly agreed.

"Babe?" Batman sounded unsure of him self. Almost like he was nervous.

"Yeah, Ranger?"

"Can we have dinner together when I get back?" he asked.

If any other guy would have asked my to have dinner with him, I would think that he was asking me out on a date. But knowing Ranger he probably just wants to talk to be about doing a distraction for Rangeman, or possible working for him part-time to help catch Rangeman up of searches and background checks.

"I don't know. Maybe. I may be working. It will depend if Connie has any new FTAs that I need to bring in. Call me when you get back. If I can't do dinner then we can figure out some other time we can meet."

"Uh….okay." Ranger said sounding a little disappointed. "Can I at least call you while I'm in Miami?"

"Sure. I'd like that. Just don't get shot while you're in Miami."

"As long as you don't go crazy while I'm gone. Good-bye, Babe." Ranger said before hanging up.

I don't know what shocked me more, Ranger asking to call me while he was in Miami or Ranger actually saying good-bye before hanging up. Ranger has been acting strange ever since he came back from being 'in the wind'. Maybe I should ask Bobby to check Ranger for fever when he gets back to Trenton.

I decided not to worry about it until later. I placed my phone back on the nightstand, before pulling the covers over my head and going back to sleep.

The next thing I knew I woke to the sound of someone beating on my apartment door. I glanced over to the alarm clock that read 10:30 a.m. I crawled out of bed and pulled on a pair of yoga pants that were in the floor next to my bed. I was already wearing Ranger's shirt that I like to sleep in, so I decided that I was presentable enough to answer the door.

"Keep your pants. I'm coming!" I yelled as I made my way to the door. When I opened the door, there was a man, who appeared to be in his forties, wearing a business suit. He was short, wore glasses, and had the world's worst comb-over that was failing to cover a large bald spot on the top of his head.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"I'm looking for a Miss Stephanie Plum. I was told that this is her address." He esplained.

"And your are…?" I prompted.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I should have introduced myself. My name is Marshall Rivers. I own Rivers Jewelry here in Trenton. I have a delivery for Miss Plum."

"I'm Stephanie Plum." I introduced myself, trying to figure out why he would have a delivery for me. I've heard of Rivers Jewelry Store, but I've never been in there. It's the most expensive jewelry store in Trenton. I could never afford anything they have, even if it was on sale.

"Would you mind showing me your i.d.?" He asked.

"Sure, wait here." I said. I walked over to the coffee table where I left my purse and dug out my driver's license.

I handed Mr. Rivers my license. Once he was satisfied that I was in fact Stephanie Plum, he handed my license back. Then Mr. Rivers reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out a black velvet box. When he opened the box, I felt my jaw hit the floor. The box held an elegant platinum necklace with a matching platinum wolf hanging from chain.

"I was hoping that you would like it. I have to admit that I am pretty proud of how the necklace turned out. It was a custom order. Have a nice day, Miss Plum." He said before walking away.

Dumbfounded, I mumbled 'thank you' before closing the apartment door. I walked over to my couch and sat down, placing the necklace on the coffee table. I was still sitting on my couch staring at the necklace when my home phone rang.

"Hello, Baby Granddaughter." My Grandma Mazur said when I answered.

"Hi, Grandma."

"You sound a little bit out of it. Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine, Grandma. I just woke up not to long ago. How's everything with you?"

"I'm just great. I called because Gloria asked me to negotiate the conditions of her capture. She wants to have a good story to tell the next time she goes back to the Clip-N-Curl." Grandma explained.

"Negotiate?" I asked. "There's nothing to negotiate. She didn't show up for her court date and now I have to take her back to reschedule."

"She said that if you meet her conditions that she would make this easy for you. Besides one of the reasons she skipped court so that you could haul her back in. The least you could do is hear her conditions."

Now I realize that most bounty hunters would not feel the need to negotiate with a FTA, especially when the FTA is in their eighties. But since my track record with Grandma's friends unusually ends up with me covered in baked goods or garbage, I figured it couldn't hurt to hear her out. By the end of the phone call, I agreed to Gloria's conditions and had an appointment to meet her at the Clip-N-Curl to take her to the police station. Now all I had to do was make a phone call and beg one the guys at Rangeman to help me out.


	7. Chapter 7

The characters belong to JE. I receive nothing from this, but it sure is fun.

Chapter 7

It took me fifteen minutes to decide if I should wear my new necklace or not. I finally decided to leave it in my apartment, slipping the jewelry case into my pillow case. I didn't want to leave it out where anyone could see it, for two reasons. Number one: My apartment is so easy to break into, a child could do it. And number two: I was about to drove over to Rangeman and I didn't want to answer any questions about where the necklace came from. The Merry Men are as bad a bunch of elderly 'Burg women in a beauty shop when it came to gossip.

I drove over to Rangeman with plans to beg the first Merry Man I saw. Luckily, as I parked my car into the underground garage, the elevator doors opened and the perfect victim, I mean Merry Man, stepped out.

"Hey, Beautiful. I didn't expect to see you today?" Lester smiled.

"Hi, Lester. You're just the man I wanted to see." I said, returning his smile.

"Well, in that case I'll call Tank and tell him I'm offline for the next twenty-four hours. We can head up to my apartment on four…." Lester says taking me by the hand and heading towards the elevator." Lester laughs.

"That's not what I meant and you know it." I said punching him in the arm. Ouch! That hurt.

"Can't blame a guy for trying. What can I help you with, Beautiful?"

"I have an eighty year old FTA that promised to come with me willing if I brought one of my hot bounty hunter friends from Rangeman when I pick her up. I thought I would take her up on her offer since I really don't want to be covered in garbage today." I explained.

"This eighty year old FTA wouldn't happen to be friends with your grandma, would she?" Lester asked.

"Gloria and Grandma Mazur have been known to hang out on occasion."

"If I agree to do this, do I need to wear a cup?" Lester asked with his eyebrow raised.

"A cup?" I asked confused.

"Yeah, a cup. For protection. I may actually decide to settle down and have kids one day. If your FTA is anything like your Grandma I may need to protect myself. The last time I went with you to your parent's house, your grandma grabbed me so hard…." Lester shuddered so hard that he couldn't finish his sentence.

"Gloria promised to go easy on me if I brought eye candy with me when I picked her up." I promised.

"So you only picked me for my body?"

"Of course not, Lester. I chose you because you're the first Rangeman I say when I got here." I laughed.

"That hurts, Beautiful. But since I love you so much, I'm going to help you anyway. When do we leave?"

"Gloria said to meet her at the Clip-N-Curl. She wanted to get her hair fixed before we take her down to the police station." I explained, as I walked to my car.

"Wait a minute. I agreed to go with you, but I never agreed to ride in that ugly car of yours. It's bad for my image. We can take my Rangeman SUV. I just need to let Tank know that I'm going to help you with a FTA." Lester said unclipping his phone from his belt to call Tank. A few minutes later we were in the SUV headed over to the Clip-N-Curl.

When we arrived at the Clip-N-Curl, the Rangeman parking karma must have been at full power today. Every parking space for two blocks was full, but Lester pulled up to the beauty shop at the exact moment someone vacated the space directly in front of the Clip-N-Curl.

"It's just not fair." I mumbled.

"What's not fair, Beautiful?" Lester asked.

"The Rangeman parking karma. Every space on this street is full and suddenly one opens up at the exact time you pull up and it's directly in front of where we are going. If I had come to pick her up by myself, I would have had to park two blocks away." I explained.

"Really? I've never noticed." Lester shrugged. "Looks like we have an audience."

O turned to look out the passenger window to see Grandma Mazur, Gloria, and Gerti Hopper with their faces pressed to the front window of the beauty shop. Lester and I climbed out of his SUV as Gloria stepped away from the window and began walking towards the back of the shop. Grandma Mazur met us at the door.

"Bout time you got here, Baby Granddaughter. When I saw your friend Mr. Lester, I told Gloria that you brought a good one with a really nice package." Grandma said with a gleam in her eye. I glance over at Lester in time to see him turn green at Grandma's package comment.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Mazur." Lester greeted her, making sure that I stayed between him and Grandma at all times.

"Hey, Hot Stuff. Gloria is at the back of the shop waiting on you. She said to send you back there to get her." Grandma told Lester. I started to go with him, but Grandma stopped me, "Stay here with me so we can catch up."

"I'll be right back." Lester said walking towards Gloria.

"Grandma, we just saw each other a few days ago. There can't be much to catch up on." I rolled my eyes.

"I just wanted you to stay here with me and watch the show." Grandma laughs. "Gerti is your video camera ready?"

"I'm ready." Gerti giggled.

"The show? Gloria said that she would go easy on me and come willingly." I panicked.

"Gloria said she would go easy on you. She never said that she wouldn't have a little fun with your friend." Grandma explained.

I turned to warn Lester when I heard him yell "Whoa!", followed by the sound of at least 225 pound of solid muscle hit the floor.

"Gloria poured shampoo on the floor when the two of you drove up." Grandma laughed as Lester attempted to stand up and failed. I started to walk towards him, but Grandma placed her hand on my arm and said, "Wait for it."

"What the….?" Lester yealled as Gloria sprayed him with the faucet from the shampoo station.

"Gloria! Stop that right now!" I yelled. Sometimes Grandma and her friend were like a bunch of children running around. Sometimes the only way to get them under control was to treat them like they were children and you're the parent. "You promised that you wouldn't cause any trouble!"

"I'm done now, anyway." Gloria said, turning the faucet off. "I just wanted a good story to tell everyone at the Senior Center."

I carefully made my way over to Lester and helped him onto his feet. I hate to say this but I was secretly glad that he was a mess and I was still clean.

"You owe me, Beautiful."

"I'm so sorry. Gloria said that she wouldn't cause any trouble. I assumed that meant you too." I apologized.

Gloria insisted on being handcuffed and Lester didn't hesitate to oblige her. I don't think he trusted her not to try something else before we got to the police station.

Once Gloria was safely buckled into the back seat, I followed Lester around to the back of the SUV. It wasn't much he could do about his wet cargo pants, but he could change shirts before heading to the police station. Lester grabbed a shirt from the back of the SUV and quickly pulled off the wet shirt to change. I've never seen Lester without his shirt on and my hormones did a little jump in anticipation.

That's when I saw it. On Lester's back was a tattoo of a wolf that looked almost exactly like the necklace that was delivered to my apartment this morning.

As Lester pulled the clean dry shirt on, I opened my mouth to say something, but quickly closed it. There's no way that Lester could be my Wolf Man from Halloween night, could he? Sure Lester's always flirting with me, but that's just to annoy Ranger, isn't it? Everyone knows that Lester is the biggest player at Rangeman. Oh God, if the 'Wolf Man' is one of Ranger's own men, this could get complicated fast.


	8. Chapter 8

The characters belong to JE. I receive nothing from this, but it sure is fun.

Chapter 8

While Connie was reposting Gloria's bail, Lester got a called out on a Rangeman emergency. An alarm was tripped at one of the businesses they monitor that was usually closed on Saturdays. He felt bad about leaving me at the police station, but I told him that Connie would give me a ride back to Rangeman so I could pick up my car.

While I was waiting for Connie, I was worried that I might run into Joe. I was relieved when Robin Russell told me that Terry had dragged him off to shop for baby furniture. I couldn't help but smile when I pictured him following Terry around the store. He always said that shopping for baby stuff was the mother's responsibility and that all the father should do is show up to labor and delivery and pass out cigars.

It wasn't long before Connie and I were in her car, giving Gloria a ride home. Gloria was in a hurry to get to her house where Grandma Mazur and a bunch of her friends from the Senior Center were waiting. Gloria said that they were having a party to celebrate Gloria getting out of jail. The way she talked, you would think that she had just been released after doing twenty years of hard labor.

When Connie pulled away from Gloria's curb I asked, "Do you think that you and Lula could come over to my apartment tonight? I may have a lead on who Wolf Man is."

"I'll be there. It might depend on whether or not Tank's working or not if Lula comes or not." Connie told me.

"I'm sure Tank has to work. Ranger had to go to the Miami office this morning, so Tank is in charge of Rangeman until he gets back." I explained.

When Connie dropped me off at Rangeman, I went straight to my car. There was a note from Ella on my windshield, asking me to come up to the sixth floor. When I got to six, Ella was waiting on me in front of the elevator, holding a round cake carrier.

"Hello, Dear." Ella said giving me a hug.

"Hi, Ella. You wanted to see me?" I asked.

"Yes. Cal is on the monitors and I asked him to let me know when you returned, so that I could have this ready for you. Ranger asked me if I would make this for you before he left this morning. I didn't want to leave it on five, I was afraid that the boys would have ate it since Ranger's in Miami." Ella said handing me the cake carrier.

"Thank you, Ella. You really didn't have to do that." I told her.

"You know how much I love cooking for you. I made my double fudge chocolate cake. I know that it's one of your favorite, beside pineapple upside down cake."

Yum! Ella's double fudge chocolate cake is orgasmic.

"Thank you, Ella." I said again.

"It was my pleasure. You have a nice evening dear." Ella said before turning back to go into her apartment.

I was riding in the elevator down to the garage when the elevator stopped on three. I have a love/hate relationship with the third floor. The third floor is where the Rangeman gym is located. I hate to exercise, but I love to watch the Ranger and the Merry Men workout. When the elevator door opened, Bobby the Rangeman Medic was waiting. He was only wearing basketball shorts and high top sneakers. This must be my lucky day, not only do I have a cake from Ella, but now I get to see both Lester and Bobby without their shirts on.

"Bomber! I didn't know you were here. If you're looking for Ranger, he's in Miami." Bobby said giving me a hug.

"Ewww! Bobby, you're all sweaty!" I complained.

Bobby laughed. "Sorry, Bomber. I was just excited to see you. I haven't seen you since Halloween. By the way, your costume was hot."

"I didn't see you on Halloween." I told him.

"I know, but I saw you. I was working security at El Diablo on Halloween night. I had on a costume, so you wouldn't have been able to recognize me." Bobby said bending down to tie his shoe.

I about fell over when I saw it, Bobby had the same wolf tattoo on his shoulder that Lester had on his back.

"I…uh…nice tattoo." I stammered.

"Oh…yeah. I got it a few years ago, when I was in the army." Then he leaned over and whispered, "It's not the only one I have."

Oh, God! I got a hot flash thinking about the only other place that he could have a tattoo hidden was covered by his basketball shorts.

"Bomber, are you okay?" Bobby asked.

"Uh…yeah…I'm…uh…fine." I could barely speak.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

I didn't trust myself to speak, so I only nodded.

"Alright, but if you meed me for anything, you know that you can call me anytime, day or night, right?"

I nodded again as the elevator doors opened to the garage.

"Are you sure that you don't need me to drive you home? I can run up to my apartment and change. It would only take five minutes." Bobby offered.

"No!" I said a little louder than necessary. "I'm going straight home. If I have any problems, I'll call Rangeman." I said before I jumped in my car and drove to my apartment as fast as I could.

When I made it to my apartment door, there was crystal vase with two long stemmed pink roses from Mancini's Flower Shop with a letter attached. One rose was a deep pink color and the other was a light pink. There was also a note on my door from Paulie saying that Mrs. Bestler said that it would be okay if he left the flowers outside my door.

I carried my cake and roses into my apartment, sitting the cake on the kitchen counter and the pink roses next to my peach rose, and opened the letter.

_Babe,_

_ I wanted to give you these roses in person. Since I have to fly to Miami this morning, I decided to write this letter, and I asked Ella to take it to the flower shop so it could be delivered with the roses._

_The dark pink rose represents appreciation and understanding. I realize that I'm not very good at opening up and talking, but I feel that you understand me better than anyone, even my family. I appreciate that even when you don't agree with my decisions (especially when it comes to your protection) that you still ultimately support me. I hope that you feel the same about me, because I will always appreciate you and I will always be there to support you in everything you do._

_The lighter pink rose represents friendship, kindness, and happiness. Babe, you are truly my best friend. You are one of the most kind and caring individuals I ever met. You showed kindness to me and my men without passing judgment. Having you in my life has brought happiness to my life, which is something that I never thought I would be blessed with._

_ Carlos_

Carlos thinks that I understand him. He's kidding, right? When it comes to Ricardo Carlos Manoso, I've never been more confused in my life.


	9. Chapter 9

The characters belong to JE. I receive nothing from this, but it sure is fun.

**A/N:** For every that has left reviews, I appreciate the reviews more than words can express. I may not get a chance to reply to them all, but I want you to know that I read each and every one of them. It encourages me to keep on writing. I'm already plotting out my next story in my head.

Chapter 9

Connie and Lula arrived while I was eating my second piece of Ella's cake. Connie was carrying three large pizzas from Pino's and Lula was carrying sodas. I moved my roses from Carlos so we could eat at the dining room table.

"White girl, it looks like a flower shop in here. Did you decide to open a new business and forget to tell me about it?" Lula joked.

I knew that Connie had filled her in on the flowers for the 'Wolf Man', but I hadn't told anyone about the flowers from Carlos yet.

"Steph, did you 'Wolf Man' send you more flowers?" Connie asked gesturing over to the peach and pink roses that I had set next to the cake Ella baked.

"Those aren't from the 'Wolf Man'." I explained.

"You have more than one man sending you flowers? I swear, White Girl, you have all the luck." Lula said .

"So who sent them?" Connie asked me.

"Ranger sent them." Lula spit her soda all over Connie. Thank God looking was looking at Connie when I told them.

"Lula!" Connie screeched.

"What it ain't my fault that she told us that Batman sent her flowers at the exact moment I was looking at you. If you want to blame someone, blame Stephanie." Lula defended herself before turning to me. "So, Batman sent you flowers?" Lula asked.

I only nodded since my mouth was full of pizza.

Connie turned to Lula and said, "Pay up."

"Just because Batman sent her flowers don't mean that Batman is the Wolf Man." Lula argued.

"What more proof do you need? Batman has to be the Wolf Man. Besides, we both know that those two have been in love for years. They just won't admit it." Connie countered.

"I'm sitting right here." I sighed. "Besides, I don't think its Ranger."

"Why not?" Connie asked.

"First of all, Ranger doesn't do relationships. And second…." I explained. "And second, I think that it might be Lester or Bobby."

"What makes you think that its Lester or Bobby?" Lula asked.

I explained about the necklace that was delivered to my apartment, which Connie and Lula insisted that I show them immediately. Then I explained how Lester and Bobby each have a tattoo that was eerily similar to the necklace.

"That tattoo don't necessarily mean that it could be Lester and Bobby. Tank has a tattoo on his butt of a wolf that looks kind of like that. And we both know it ain't Tank. He came to El Diablo dressed as a vampire." Lula explained. "For all you know, Connie could be right. Batman could have the same tattoo."

"Ranger doesn't have a tattoo." I blurted out before I thought about it.

Connie and Lula sat their slices of pizza down and looked at each other before looking at me.

"And just how do you know that Ranger doesn't have a tattoo?" Connie asked.

Crap. I really need to think before I speak. "I…uh….he told me?" I stammered, hoping that they would buy it. I really didn't want to tell them about the DeCooch deal. They would demand details and I didn't want to relive the feeling of when Ranger told me to fix things with Morelli.

Lula and Connie each raised an eyebrow and looked at me. Am I the only person that can't do that? I could tell that they didn't believe me. Shockingly they didn't push for more information.

"How did you find out about Lester and Bobby's tattoos?" Connie asked.

I went on to explain what happened at the Clip-N-Curl causing Lester to change his shirt. I also explained how I saw Bobby's tattoo, adding that he admitted to being at the club Halloween night in costume.

"Steph, there's a simple way to fix this." Connie told me. "Just ask Lester and Bobby. If it was one of them, they'll confess."

"I can't do that. It would be too embarrassing." I replied.

"White Girl, you're a bounty hunter. You need to use your skills to do a little private investigating to find out who this Wolf Man is." Lula pointed out.

I hate to admit it, but Lula was right. I probably couldn't get any information from the jewelry store, but the Mancini family is from the 'Burg. Maybe I could get some information from Paulie or his mom.

"You're right. I'll go by Mancini's Flower Shop on Monday morning. Maybe I can find out a name to go with the flowers." I agreed. To tell the truth, I was still a little concerned that this guy was another stalker, but my spidey senses seem to indicate that it was someone that I already know and am comfortable with.

It was just after 9 p.m., when Connie and Lula left my apartment. I headed back to kitchen to clean up when my cell phone rang, playing the Batman theme song.

"Hello, Batman."

"Babe."

"So, how are you're men?" I asked.

"Spike has a flesh wound was real minor. He'll be on desk duty for about a week. Flare has a long road of physical therapy, but he should be back to regular duty in a few months. Did you get my gifts?"

"Yes. Thank you. You didn't have to make Ella go to all that trouble. The cake was wonderful." I told him.

"Was?" he asked. I could picture his with a smirk and his eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, was." I laughed. "Connie and Lula came over. I only have one piece left." I explained.

"I surprised that Lula didn't try to eat the last piece."

"Oh she tried, but I threatened to stab her with my fork if she did." I giggled.

"Only my Babe would fight to the death for a piece of cake. Ella will be happy that you enjoyed it. I'm pretty sure I made her day when I asked her to make it. Did you like the rest of your gift?" he asked.

"Yes, the pink roses are beautiful. I put them next to the peach rose that you left for me." I told him. "Ranger, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, Babe. You can ask me anything. I'll tell you anything you want to know, as long as it's not classified." Ranger answered.

"Why don't you have a tattoo?"

"My missions required me to be able to blend into any situation. I couldn't risk having a tattoo that could be recognized in case I crossed paths with an enemy from a previous mission. I can change my appearance, but it was too risky to have a recognizable tattoo. It could have blown my cover." Ranger explained.

"I guess I can understand that, but doesn't Tank, Lester, and Bobby have tattoos? They've gone on missions. Weren't they afraid they might be recognized?" I asked.

"Tank, Bobby, and Lester were never assigned to solo missions like I was. When they went on missions with me, it was as a team. By the time the missions were completed, they didn't have to worry about people ever recognizing them." Ranger explained. "Babe, how did you know about Tank, Bobby, and Lester's tattoos?"

"Lula told me that Tank had a tattoo. I saw Bobby's after I picked up the cake. And I saw Lester's when he had to change shirt when he help me with a skip. One of Grandma's friends promised me she would come with me willingly if I brought one of the guys from Rangeman with me to pick her up. I didn't realize that didn't apply to Lester. By the time it was over he was covered in shampoo and water. I think one of Grandma's friends taped it, if you want to see it."

"It might make good entertainment at the Rangeman Christmas party." Ranger laughed. God, I love the sound of his laugh. I wished he would do it more often.

"Are you going to get to see Julie?" I asked.

"I called Rachel today. I'm supposed to pick up Julie after church tomorrow and spend the afternoon with her. I wish you were here with me. I have no idea how to entertain a twelve year old girl."

"You'll do fine. If all else fails, take her shopping. I'm sure that she's just happy to spend the afternoon with you. Just don't micro-manage your day with her." I suggested.

"Babe, I don't micro-manage." Ranger argued.

"Really?" I said rolling my eyes. "When was the last time you went somewhere just to have fun without planning escape routes. You need to learn to relax."

By the time Ranger and I finished talking it was almost 11 p.m. I was surprised when he began telling me a little bit about his childhood. Apparently, I'm not the only one that attempted to fly as a child. Ranger and his brother built a ramp so they could jump over a row of trash cans with their bikes. Ranger, of course, was the brave one willing to test their homemade ramp and broke his arm in the process.

When I finally crawled into bed, I fell asleep with a smile on my face, thinking about Ranger as a little boy attempting to fly over a row of trash cans like Evel Knievel.


	10. Chapter 10

The characters belong to JE. I receive nothing from this, but it sure is fun.

**A/N:** For every that has left reviews, I appreciate the reviews more than words can express. I may not get a chance to reply to them all, but I want you to know that I read each and every one of them. It encourages me to keep on writing. I'm already plotting out my next story in my head.

Chapter 10

Since I found out about Joe getting Terry pregnant, I had been screening my calls. My answering machine was half filled with the 'Burg gossip vine, calling to ask if I had really put a hit out of Terry. The other half of the answering machine was filled with messages from my mother. If I heard 'Why me? Diana Sorbello's daughter, Elizabeth knows how to keep a boyfriend from running off and getting a girl pregnant', I was going to lose my mind. I seriously considering calling mom back and telling her all about Elizabeth Sorbello's boyfriend, Bryan. Bryan is a real nice guy that was a successful stock broker. Notice I said was. Bryan quit his job and now is a cross-dressing drummer in Sally Sweet's band. He's actually an excellent drummer. Lula and I went to one of Sally's concerts last month at a club called Glitz. We sat with Elizabeth during the concert. Elizabeth told us that Bryan has been a cross-dresser for years and only recently decided to make that information public knowledge. Elizabeth fully supports Bryan's lifestyle and career choice. She even does his make-up before every show. The only compliant she had was that they can't share shoes since his foot is so much bigger than hers.

I had decided to stop listening to mom's messages, which meant that I would not be having Sunday dinner at my parents' house. Instead, I called the Chinese place down the street and had it delivered to my apartment. I sat on the couch eating my Sweet and Sour Chicken from the container, while I balanced my laptop in my lap. Since I won't be able to go to the Flower Shop until the morning, I decided to see what I could find out about wolf tattoos. Bobby and Lester had to have the same tattoo for a reason, right?

I love Google, granted it doesn't produce neat the amount of detailed information I could get from one of the Rangeman search programs, but it works for my non-existent budget. Besides, it's not like I could call Tank and ask him if I could use the Rangeman search engines to research wolf tattoos. There was too big of a chance that Lester or Bobby could see what I was searching and I wasn't ready to confront either of them yet. I realize that Bobby and Lester are both hot, but I couldn't see myself in a relationship with either one of them. I'm still in love with Ranger and need to work through those feeling before I could ever consider a relationship with someone else. I think in the back of my mind I was hoping that Connie could be right and the Wolf Man was Ranger. I know it was possible, since Ranger was working Halloween night and not at the club, but a girl could wish.

The first website I clicked on was very informative. I learned that a wolf is skilled and intelligent hunter. That could apply to all of the Merry Man, especially Ranger. Ranger had proved that he was an excellent an excellent hunter when he held a little old lady at gunpoint to find me when Con Stiva kidnapped me.

On the next website, I learned about how wolves hunt in packs to increase their success in nature. That also applied to Ranger and the Merry Men. Watching the team plan a take-down, is like watching a dancer choreograph a routine. They work together seamlessly and I've never seen them fail.

I also learned that wolf packs are just like families, which gives them territorial advantage from other predators. Once again this could apply to all of the guys at Rangeman, and Carlos was definitely the Alpha male, the pack leader. I have witnessed first-hand Ranger and the Merry Men tearing apart Stark Street to find skips. I'm sure every drug dealer and pimp on Stark Street has wet their pants on more than one occasion while being interrogated by Ranger and his men.

I finally shut down my laptop, deciding that while what I learned was interesting, it did nothing to help me determine who could be my wolf man. The only conclusions I had come to was that whoever it is had no problem spending money. Twelve dozen roses from a flower shop and a platinum necklace are not cheap. I also knew that the Wolf Man knew where I lived, since both gifts were delivered to my apartment. So basically, everything I knew couldn't help me narrow down the possibilities.

I decided to spend the rest of the evening eating popcorn and watching Ghostbusters. I was halfway through the movie when the Batman theme song began playing from my cell phone.

"Yo, Batman."

"Babe." He replied. "How was your day?"

"Not too bad. It's been pretty quiet. I cleaned up the mess that Lula, Connie, and I made last. Then I continued to avoid phone calls from the 'Burg gossips and my mom. You know, the usually." I paused for a moment and listen to Ranger as he quietly laughed. I wished he would laugh more often. It's a beautiful sound. "How was your day with Julie?'

"I think she had fun. Rachel's a little upset with me."

"Why would Rachel be upset with you?" I asked.

"I may have went a little overboard when I took Julie shopping." He explained.

"And?"

"I may have let her buy anything and everything she wanted. Rachel said that I was spoiling her, but in my defense I also took her to Toy-R-Us to pick out a few gifts for her little brother and sister." Ranger explained. Ranger may not see Julie as much as he would like, but when he does get an opportunity to see Julie, he always brings gifts for Julie and her half brother and half sister from Rachel's second marriage. He never wants the younger ones to feel left out. Tank once let it slip that Ranger also pays for private school for all three children.

"Rachel will get over it. It's your right as Julie's biological father to spoil her on occasion. It's not like you take her shopping and let her go overboard every day." I reasoned.

"I'm not sure it has anything to do with taking Julie shopping. I think it has more to do with a report that Julie wrote for school." Ranger told me.

"Why would Rachel get upset over that? Did Julie get a bad grade?" I asked.

"Julie had to write about who she admires most." Ranger paused. "Babe, she wrote about you."

I just taken a bite of popcorn when he said that, which caused me to start choking.

"Babe, are you okay?" Ranger asked.

I took a drink of coke and said "Excuse me, I think I misunderstood. I thought you said she wrote her report about me."

"She did. Julie emailed me a copy of her report. She wants to be like you when she grows up. I'll make you a copy when I get back to Trenton." Ranger told me. "I think that Rachel is a little jealous."

"Does Julie realize that I spend most of my time rolling around in garbage?" I asked.

"Babe, when Scrog kidnapped Julie and then you, you made sure to protect her. Babe, you're her hero." Ranger said. "Don't underestimate yourself."

"You're the one that walked into my apartment knowing that Scrog was waiting to kill you. And Julie was the one who shot Scrog. If anyone is the hero in that situation, it's you and Julie." I said thinking about the night that I almost lost Ranger. It was the same night that I realized that I love him. I think that deep down I always knew that I love him from the moment I met him, but I denied it.

"Babe, I love Julie, but we're really not close. It would hurt if I ever lost her, but I would eventually move on. I don't think I could go on without you in my life." Ranger said quietly.

I didn't know what to say. I feel the same way about Ranger. I can't imagine life without him, so I said the only thing that came to my mind. "I miss you. Do you know when you're going to be home?"

"I should be home sometime tomorrow. Have you thought about having dinner with me tomorrow night?" He asked.

"I can do dinner tomorrow night. What time?" I asked.

"I was thinking I could pick you up around seven. Is that okay with you?" He asked. "I can make reservations at that new French place."

"Seven sounds great. I've never had French food before." I said. I was a little surprised, usually when he wants to talk to me about a job; we eat in his apartment on seven.

"I was hoping that you would say yes." Ranger said. "Oh, and Babe?"

"Yeah, Ranger?"

"I miss you too." Ranger said quickly before he hung up.

I stared at the phone in disbelief. Did I just make a date with Ranger? Going out to dinner with Ranger feels like a date, but it can't be. Ranger has pointed out too many times that he doesn't have room in his life for a relationship. I looked over at the roses that Ranger had sent. I had moved them to my coffee table so that I could look at them while I was working on my laptop. Is it possible that maybe he's changed his mind about relationships? I shook my head trying to get that thought out of my mind. Instead I thought, 'Don't get your hopes up, Stephanie'.


	11. Chapter 11

The characters belong to JE. I receive nothing from this, but it sure is fun.

**A/N:** For every that has left reviews, I appreciate the reviews more than words can express. I may not get a chance to reply to them all, but I want you to know that I read each and every one of them. It encourages me to keep on writing. I'm already plotting out my next story in my head.

Chapter 11

I truly believe that there are only two good reasons to get up early in the morning: the Black Friday sale at Macy's and Christmas morning. This morning, I woke up earlier than normal. I was determined to find out the identity of 'Wolf Man'. Since I was on a mission, I decided to channel my inner Rangeman and dress the part. I was wearing a black long sleeved fitted t-shirt with my pink and black camouflage cargo pants that Connie and Lula had given me for my birthday. I completed my look with my black CAT work boots and three layers of mascara for courage.

It was just after 8:00 a.m. when I left my apartment. The flower shop wouldn't open for at least another hour, so I headed to McDonald's Drive-Thru in search of breakfast.

I decided to sit in my car and wait for the flower shop to open while I ate my breakfast. I was about to finish the last bite of my Egg McMuffin when I heard a tap on my car door window.

"Hey, Cupcake." I heard thru the glass.

I glared at Joe as I cracked my window and asked, "What do you want, Joe?"

Joe shifted his weight back and forth. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

I grabbed my coat and got out of my car. "Make it quick."

"Wow. You've turned yourself into Commando Barbie." He chuckled.

"If that's all you got to say, you can be on your way." I glared.

"I'm sorry, Cupcake." Joe apologized.

"You can drop the cupcake, Joe. I don't think that Terry would appreciate it." I snapped.

"You're right. I'm sorry." Joe said shoving his hands into his coat pocket. "I wanted to talk to you about your mother."

"Great! Why me? Why do I have to have a mother that has to stick her nose where it doesn't belong? You don't see Rebecca Patterson's mother butting into her life just because Rebecca can't keep a boyfriend." I ranted.

"I don't think Rebecca will have any boyfriend problems since she became a nun. And second," Joe laughed, "You sound exactly like your mother."

Oh my God! He right! I sound exactly like my mom. If anyone ever found out about this, I would never live this down.

"So help me God, Joe, if you ever tell anyone about this…." I threatened.

"I'll never tell a soul. I've seen what kind of damage you can do with your knee. My lips are sealed." Joe promised as he continued to laugh.

"Listen Cup…er…I mean Steph. I saw your car and wanted to give up a heads up. Your mother will not stop calling my house." Joe told me.

"I imagine that Terry isn't too happy about that." I grinned.

"She's not. Terry is insisting that she and I go over to your parents' house and have a little chat with your mom." Joe said.

"Good Luck. Ask Terry not to put a hit on my mother. My mom might be difficult, but she's still my mom. Try going over there tomorrow morning. It might be safer for you to go while Dad's out driving his cab." I warned.

"Your Dad never did like me, did he?" Joe asked. When I shook my head no, Joe said "Thanks for the warning."

Joe turned and walked towards his POS unmarked police car. As he opened the door, I called out, "Hey Joe."

"Yeah" He replied.

"Be happy."

"You too, Steph." He smiled as he climbed into the car before driving out of the parking lot.

While Joe and I were talking, Mrs. Mancini had opened the flower shop.

"Good morning, Mrs. Mancini." I said as I entered the shop.

"Good morning, Stephanie. Have you enjoyed your flowers?" She asked.

"The flowers are beautiful. Your shop has the prettiest flowers in Trenton." I smiled. Every girl raised in the 'Burg is taught that if you want something from someone you start by sucking up to your target.

"We like to think so. Now, how can I help you dear? I saw you speaking with Joe Morelli outside. Please tell me you're not in here to order wedding flowers. You can do much better than a Morelli." Mrs. Mancini told me.

I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face. I had forgotten that Mrs. Mancini and Joe's mom get along as well as I do with Joyce Barnhart.

"No, ma'am. Terry could have him. I'm not looking to get married anytime soon." I explained.

"Good for you. There's plenty of time for you to settle down later." She said, patting my hand. "Why settle for a Morelli when you are surrounded by all those good looking men in black. Who knows, this new boyfriend of yours could be the one. He certainly has excellent taste in flowers."

A blush crept across my face. "That's sort of the reason I'm here. Whoever is sent me those flowers didn't sign the card. I was wondering if you knew who the flowers were from."

"A secret admirer! How exciting!" Mrs. Mancini exclaimed. "I'm sorry dear, but I've only spoken with him on the phone. He never even told me his name. He had such a nice accent. Spanish, I think."

Now I'm getting somewhere. That eliminates Bobby, which leaves Lester and the very small possibility of Ranger. Not that I was getting my hopes up.

"Normally I wouldn't ask, but I'm worried that he may be a stalker." I lied. I actually wasn't too worried that he was a stalker, because my spidey sense didn't set off warning bells when I received the flowers and necklace. "Could you check to see if he paid my credit card? I really don't want to take any chances."

"You do tend to attract some crazies." She agreed. "I'm afraid that with each order he called in, he sent a woman to pay for it with cash. She would also deliver a signed card or letter to go with each of the three arrangements."

"Wait a minute! Did you say three orders?" I asked.

"Yes, the first one was the twelve dozen roses. The second was a single long-stemmed peach rose. I remember that one well because he called me at home and offered me a large sum of money to open early that morning. Paulie met him with the rose outside of your apartment building. The last one was for two roses, one dark pink and one light. I completely forgot that Paulie met him that morning. Paulie is in school right now, but I could have him call you after school and describe what the man looked like." She offered.

"It isn't necessary. I know who it is by the information he gave me." I smiled.

"Is this man dangerous? Should I refuse to fill his orders?" Mrs. Mancini offered.

I laughed. I didn't want to tell Mrs. Mancini that Ranger was extremely dangerous, just not to me. "This man would never hurt me. He would do anything in his power to protect me."

The chime of the shop door rang alerting Mrs. Mancini to a customer. "Stephanie, that is the woman that has been stopping by to pay for the orders." She whispered.

I turned around and became face to face with Ella. "Good morning, Ella. Does Ranger have you running errands this morning?" I asked giving her a hug.

"I knew it wouldn't take long for you to figure it out." Ella smiled. "Are you going to tell him that you know?"

"Not yet. I want to give him a chance to tell me tonight at dinner. There are a few questions that I want him to answer before I let him know that I know." I answered. Suddenly, I knew exactly how I wanted to let Ranger know that I had figured out that he is my 'Wolf Man.' "Ella, would you stop by my apartment at lunch? I need some help with something and you're the only one that can do it without getting caught."

"I'll get Luis to drop me off and send him to run a couple of errands so that Carlos won't know I'm with you." Ella grinned.

After making Ella and Mrs. Mancini promise to forget that I was ever at the flower shop this morning, I walked over to the nail salon next door for a manicure and pedicure. I had forgotten that Ranger usually hides a couple of trackers my purse and car. Luckily, I had left my purse in my car. The manicure and pedicure were the perfect cover to why I was over by the flower shop. I was doing my best to contain my excitement. I couldn't wait for tonight, to quote Ranger, 'This is going to be good'.


	12. Chapter 12

The characters belong to JE. I receive nothing from this, but it sure is fun.

**A/N:** Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I'm getting over bronchitis, but I should be back to posting almost daily.

For every that has left reviews, I appreciate the reviews more than words can express. I may not get a chance to reply to them all, but I want you to know that I read each and every one of them. It encourages me to keep on writing. I'm already plotting out my next story in my head.

Also, whoever nominated me for the Award Winning Stories Community for my Maybe Baby Story, thank you. It made my day to know that someone thought that story was worthy to be placed in a community with that name.

Chapter 12

I drove to the Bonds office in an in an excellent mood. I knew the identity of my 'Wolf Man'. I had a date tonight with that man (at least I'm pretty sure it's a date). And best of all, I had a plan for tonight with that man. Now all I need to do it pick up my files from Connie without letting it slip that I know who the Wolf Man is.

When I pulled into a parking space at the Bonds office, I noticed that Ranger's truck was already here. He must have had a real early flight this morning. I grabbed my purse and walked into the Bonds office where Connie and Lula were arguing over the last jelly filled donut.

"You've already had ten donuts. I've only had one. That last donut is mine." Connie argued.

"You know that if I don't keep my blood sugar up I might faint. I need that donut. My life could depend on it." Lula countered.

"Fine. Take it. I'm tired of arguing over it. It's not much longer to until lunch, anyway." Connie signed, giving up.

"Hey Connie! Hey Lula! Connie, got any files for me?" I asked taking a seat on the worn faux leather couch.

"Yeah, Simone Monet didn't show up for court. She was arrested for solicitation. Don't forget that she carries a stun gun." Connie told me. Simone Monet was really Simon Maloney, a cross-dressing prostitute that conducts business on Stark Street.

"Simone only stuns Joyce. As long as I pick her up a sub from Pino's, she won't cause any problems." I told Connie.

"So did you go by the flower shop? Does the 'Wolfie' have a name?" Lula asked.

"I stopped by the shop this morning, but Mrs. Mancini didn't have a name. She said that she only spoke with him over the phone and he sent cash to pay for the orders." I was pretty proud of myself. I told Connie and Lula the truth without actually revealing any information.

Vinnie's office door opened and Ranger walked out. He was dressed in standard Rangeman black and looked absolute delicious. Ranger looked at me and smirked, "Babe, a word."

I tucked my file into my purse, and followed Ranger out of the Bonds office. I expected him to take me to the alley, but instead he took me by the hand and lead me to his truck.

"Babe, still haven't found out who your 'Wolf Man' is?" he asked, as he opened his truck door.

I glanced over to the Bonds office and saw Connie and Lula with their faced plastered to the office window. I needed to answer his question carefully. Ranger has the ability to read my mind and I'm not ready to let him know that I know what he's been up too. "I tried, not that it did me any good. I went by the flower shop and asked Mrs. Mancini who sent the flowers, but she never actually saw the man. She didn't have a credit card receipt."

"Finding this guy seems important." Ranger stated.

"It is. I need to find out who this guy is so I can ask him to stop sending gifts." I told him.

"You don't like his gifts?" Ranger asked, raising his eyebrow.

"No, it's not that. It just doesn't feel right accepting gifts from one man when my heart belongs to someone else." I explained.

For a brief moment, hurt flashes across Ranger's face, followed quickly by his blank face. "You still have feelings for Morelli?" he asked.

"Absolutely not!" I exclaimed.

The next thing I knew, Ranger crushed his lips against mine, out tongues battling for control. I was well passed the hot and bothered when he pulled away, leaving us both breathless. He looked me in the eye and said, "Wait until you leave before you open it. I'm looking forward to tonight." Before I could blink, he was in his truck driving away.

As Ranger's truck turned the corner, out of my sight, I looked down to see I was holding a manila envelope. I could feel something in my hair tucked behind my ear. I reached up and pulled a short stemmed white rose out of my hair.

I ran over to my car, jumped in, and drove off. I glanced in my rearview mirror to see Lula standing in the middle of the street with her hands on her hips. A few seconds later, my cell phone began playing 'I'm sexy and I know it'.

"Hi, Lula."

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Lula yelled, in full rhino mode. "Batman takes you to his truck, kisses you senseless and you just get in your car and drive away. You left me and Connie hanging. You come back right now and tell us what just happened!"

"Sorry, Lula. I can't. I….uh….you're breaking up. I can't hear you. Lula? Lu…" I said hanging up. I know it wasn't the most original way to get off the phone, but I had to go with what I knew would work. She'll probably be mad, but if I buy her lunch later, she'll get over it.

When I got to my apartment, I put the white rose in a short vase and sat on my couch to open the envelope. In the envelope was a note from Ranger and a report title, 'Who I most Admire' by Julie Martine.

I had a hard time deciding which to read first, but Batman won out.

_Babe,_

_ The white rose is referred to as the flower of light. You are the light in my dark world. I chose a career that took me to some of the darkest places in the world. I was surrounded by some much darkness, that I was afraid that I would never see the light again. You brought light back into my life. You saved me._

_I'm sending Ella over to your apartment this afternoon. Julie and I found something for you when I took her shopping in Miami. When I saw it, I knew that it was perfect for you. Julie helped me pick it out._

_ Carlos_

Ranger thinks I saved him. I think he has it backwards. He is always running in and saving me from one disaster or another. There was being handcuffed to my shower rod, the time he saved me at Uncle Mo's cabin, that crazy lunatic Abruzzi. Not to mention, that if it wasn't for Ranger, I may have done something stupid, like marrying Joe.

I decided not to over think Ranger's note and picked up Julie's school report. I was near tears by the time I finished reading it. She thinks I'm brave. Boy is she wrong, I can fake brave with the best of them, but I'm usually scared to death. She wrote about how I helped Ranger saved her when she was kidnapped, and how she thinks of me as family. The thing that most stuck out was when she wrote about how her real dad's eyes light up whenever he talks about me and that when she grows up she hopes for find a man that will look at her the way Ranger looks at me. Ranger's daughter barely knows me and she chose to write such nice things about me. I was surprised when I read about what she said about Ranger and me. She made it sound like he talks about me all of the time.

A loud knock interrupted my thoughts, so I laid the report on my coffee table and went to answer it. A quick look through the peephole confirmed that it was Ella. She was holding a garment bag in one hand and a basket in the other. I quickly unlocked the door and greeted Ella.

"Hello, dear. Ranger asked me to bring this over this afternoon. It gave me the perfect excuse to come over here." Ella giggled. "Have you had lunch yet?"

As if on cue, my stomach growled.

"Well, I guess that's answers my question. It's a good thing I brought this with me." Ella said holding up a picnic basket in her other hand. I thought maybe we could eat lunch while you fill me in on what you have planned."

"Sounds great." I smiled. Ella had brought hot roast beef sandwiches and homemade potato chips. It was better than my mother's not that I would ever tell my mom that.

We ate our lunch while I filled her in on my plan. Before she left, I ran to my bedroom and packed a small overnight bag with everything I would need to pull it off. At the last minute, I laid the platinum wolf necklace that had been delivered Saturday morning. I hadn't worn it yet and couldn't think of a better time than later tonight. Ella was going to keep the bag in her apartment and hide it in the cabinet underneath Ranger's bathroom sink. If everything goes as well I hope it does, I may need to get Ella to help me with more plans in the future.


	13. Chapter 13

The characters belong to JE. I receive nothing from this, but it sure is fun.

**A/N:** For every that has left reviews, I appreciate the reviews more than words can express. I may not get a chance to reply to them all, but I want you to know that I read each and every one of them. It encourages me to keep on writing. I'm already plotting out my next story in my head.

Chapter 13

Once Ella left, it only took me about two seconds to take the garment bag to my bedroom and so I could check out its contents. Inside the bag was a Roberto Cavalli, sapphire blue one sleeve jersey dress. It look like it would fall about three inches above my knee. The dress had a symmetrical neckline. The single sleeve was three quarter length. The dress was absolutely stunning.

I hung the dress up on my bedroom door and went to move the garment bag off of my bed. The weight of the garment bag told me that there was still something in the bottom of the bag. I reached in and pulled out a shoebox. In the shoebox was a gorgeous pair of silver metallic leather Jimmy Choo sandals with a four and a half inch heel.

Ranger had bought me a Roberto Cavalli dress and Jimmy Choo shoes. It would take me months of saving to buy just one of these with the low level skips I bring it. I couldn't stop staring at the dress and shoes. I was finally brought back to reality when my phone starting playing Justin Timberlake's SexyBack. That was Joe's ringtone. I made a mental note to change to change his ringtone as soon as I got off the phone.

"Hi, Joe." I answered.

"Hi Cup…er…Steph." Joe replied. "I thought I would give you a heads up that Terry and I ran into your mom at the Tasty Pastry."

"Uh oh. Do I want to know what happened?" From the tone of his voice, I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear this or not.

"We would be bailing Terry and your mom out of jail right now if I wasn't a cop. We were lucky that a Carl Constanza and Big Dog were the responding officers." Joe explained.

"Oh God! What happened?" I asked.

"Terry insisted on stopping at the Tasty Pastry. She had a craving for a cannoli." Joe began.

I couldn't help it. I had to laugh at the irony. I had 'sold Joe my cannoli' at the same bakery when I was sixteen.

"Are you done laughing?" Joe asked annoyed.

"Yeah." I giggled. "Sorry, you were saying?"

"I guess your mother saw my truck in the parking lot and decide to stop." Joe continued. "You mother apparently was so intent on talking to me about the two of us getting back together, that she didn't notice Terry standing next to me."

"I hate to tell you this, but I'm sure she noticed. She just didn't care." I told Joe.

"I was about to explain that you and I getting back together was no longer an option, but before I could, Terry told her to stop living in a fantasy world, because it was never going to happen." Joe continued. "And then it happened."

"What happened?" I asked.

"First, your mother called Terry a harlot. Then she suggested that Terry could never be a fit mother with her mob connections. Your mother also said that she was sure that you would be willing to raise the child as your own when you and I get married."

"Should I start planning mom's funeral?" I asked, only half joking. "How did Terry react?"

"Terry grabbed a chocolate crème pie that was sitting on the counter and smashed it in your mom's face."

I laughed. "I almost wish that I had been there to see it. What did my mom do?"

"She grabbed a birthday cake from the day old section and started throwing handfuls at Terry. By the time they were done everyone in the shop was covered in pies, cakes, and donuts. Someone had called the cops, saying that there was a riot in progress at the Tasty Pastry." Joe explained.

At this point I was laughing uncontrollably. I couldn't believe it. My mother started a food fight in the Tasty Pastry.

"This is funny. Your mother and Terry had to agree to pay for all of the food and the clean-up. It was the only way I could convince the owner not to press charges." Joe said irritated.

"I'm sorry, but I can't help it." I laughed. "I can't believe that my mother, the woman that is constantly worrying about what the neighbors would think, started a food fight in public."

"Well, believe it. When Terry and I got home, Bob thought that he had died and when to heaven. It took me twenty minutes to pull him off of Terry. I'm still covered in cakes and pies, and Terry has already had two showers and still can't get all the icing out of her hair." Joe said. "Listen, I need to help Terry wash her hair again. Could you try talking to your mother?"

"I'll try, but I think I'll wait a couple of days. Maybe Dad and Grandma can talk some sense into her." I agreed. "Just make sure Terry doesn't put a hit out on my mother."

"Thanks. I've already made Terry promise not to hurt your mother. I told her it wouldn't look good for a homicide detective to have to investigate the murder of his ex-girlfriend's mother, especially since everyone knows about her Family connections."

"Thanks, Joe. Take care."

"You too, Steph." Joe said before hanging up.

After hanging up the phone, I quickly changed Joe's ringtone to Fighter by Christina Aguilera. Not my usual style of song, but I felt that described my relationship with Joe. All of these years of on-again and off again, and then how we ended things made me realize that I was settling for what was comfortable and familiar. I was never going to do that again. I was going to fight for a relationship with Ranger. It was time for me to tell him to put up or shut up. Ranger's always ran hot and cold, and lately with the notes and roses, it was hot. I was no longer going to accept cold and distant.


	14. Chapter 14

The characters belong to JE. I receive nothing from this, but it sure is fun.

**A/N:** For every that has left reviews, I appreciate the reviews more than words can express. I may not get a chance to reply to them all, but I want you to know that I read each and every one of them. It encourages me to keep on writing. I'm already plotting out my next story in my head.

Chapter 14

By the time I finished getting ready for my date with Ranger, it was ten minutes to seven. I took longer to get ready for tonight than I did for my wedding to 'the Dick'. I was pulling out all the stops to look good for tonight. I had just finished putting my i.d., lipstick, and a few other essentials in a small silver clutch when I felt the familiar tingle, alerting me that Ranger was nearby. I waited a few minutes for Ranger to let himself in. When he didn't, I quietly walked over to my door and looked through the peephole. Ranger was pacing back and forth in front of my door, mumbling to himself. He was carrying a bouquet of roses in his hand and every once in a while he would rub the back of his neck, like I do when I sense him near.

I bit my bottom lip to keep myself from giggling. Ranger is the master of calm and collected, but right now he looked like a teenage boy about to pick you a girl for his first date. I couldn't believe it. I was the calm one and Ranger was nervous.

I couldn't help myself, as I continued to watch him through the peephole, until he finally knocked on the door, at seven on the dot. I didn't want him to realize that I had been watching him, so I silently counted to five before opening the door and greeting him.

"Babe, you look amazing." Ranger smiled, instantly causing my knees to go weak. I guess I started to slump, because the next thing I knew Ranger's arm snaked around my waist, supporting me.

"You okay?' He asked, gently kissing my neck, below my ear, causing a shiver to run down my body.

"Yeah, I'm probably just hungry. It's been awhile since I ate." I explained. "You look pretty good yourself." Ranger was wearing a black suit with a sapphire dress shirt and tie that matched my dress.

Ranger stood there, not saying anything. It's not unusual for Ranger to be quiet, but this time the quiet was different, lacking the confidence that usual surrounds him. I decided to break the silence by pointing to the roses and asking, "Are those for me?"

"Uh….yeah!" Ranger says as if he forgot that they were in his hand. "I know that you probably have too many, but I thought that you might like the lavender color."

"They're beautiful. I've loved all the roses that you sent me, but these are definitely my favorite of all the roses." I said taking the roses. I was out of vases, so I took of the dozen red roses out of a vase, replaced the water and put the lavender arrangement in the vase.

"Even better than Wolf Man's?" Ranger asked.

"None of the Wolf Man's roses can compare to the roses and notes from you." I smiled realizing that Ranger still doesn't realize that I know that he is the Wolf Man. "Are you going to explain the meaning of the color?"

"I can explain over dinner. We should probably get going. We have just enough time to get there before our reservation." Ranger said offering me his hand.

Ranger's impeccable timing got us to the restaurant exactly on time. Once we were seated, I began to panic, realizing that the menu was entirely in French.

"Problem, Babe?"

"I…uh…the menu's in French." I said in a panic.

"We are at a French restaurant." Ranger laughed. "Do you trust me?"

"Always." I smiled.

Ranger called the waiter over and ordered. While we waited on out dinner to arrive, we made small talk. He told me about his visit with Julie and I told him about my mom's run-in with Joe and Terry at the Tasty Pastry.

"That's one scary gene pool you come from, Babe." He laughed.

"Just think, one of these days, I could turn into a sex crazed Grandma Mazur." I laughed.

"Your Grandma is scary, but I can't say I wouldn't enjoy growing old with you, especially if you inherit her enthusiasm for sex. I would just hope that the enthusiasm would be focused on me instead of every man in sight." He said making me blush.

When our meals arrived I was pleasantly surprised. "What is this?" I asked.

"Chicken Francaise, chicken with lemon and white wine sauce." He explained.

I took a bite and moaned, causing Ranger to adjust himself in his seat.

"Glad you like it." Ranger smiled. "Any guesses to who the Wolf Man is?"

"I have it narrowed down to a couple of people." I grinned, hoping that he was still nervous enough to throw off his ESP.

"Care to share?"

"I think it could be Lester or Bobby."

The color drained from Ranger's face as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Does that change your mind about letting them down easy?"

"No, it doesn't change the fact that I don't feel that way about either of them." I told him. "I was wondering if you could explain something to me."

"What's that?" He asked.

"What's the meaning behind the wolf tattoo?"

"Tank, Bobby, Lester, and I entered the Ranger program at the same time. I guess we immediately bonded. We would spend pretty much all of our free time together. If we went to a bar and one of us got into a fight, the other three would always back the other one up. Or one of us would play the role of the drunk jerk, so that the other one could come to a girls rescue and hook up with the girl. The other guys in our unit started referring to us as the wolf pack. We decided that the name fit and they guys decided to get the tattoo by the time we finished training. I couldn't get the tattoo, since the government had already started going on a few solo missions. I decided to get something different to represent being a member of our pack." Ranger explained.

"Maybe one day you can show me what you have to represent the pack." I said.

"I keep in at my apartment on seven. I can show you after dinner. I had Ella make dessert, in order to tempt you into coming over to my apartment so that we could talk. I would like to discuss something with you in private." Ranger told me.

When dinner was finished, Ranger escorted me out of the restaurant with his arm around my waist. By the time we climbed into his Porsche I was praying that we would make it to Haywood quickly. We still had things to talk about and I was already fighting off my Hungarian hormones to keep from jumping him in the car.


	15. Chapter 15

The characters belong to JE. I receive nothing from this, but it sure is fun.

**A/N:** For every that has left reviews, I appreciate the reviews more than words can express. I may not get a chance to reply to them all, but I want you to know that I read each and every one of them. It encourages me to keep on writing. I'm already plotting out my next story in my head.

Chapter 15

When we reached Ranger's apartment on seven the apartment was dimly lit. On Ranger's coffee table were candles and a silver tray of homemade chocolate truffles.

Ranger reached out and pick up a truffle before sitting on the couch and pulling me into his lap. "Ella made these just for you, Babe." He said as he fed me the truffle.

"Oh, these are orgasmic." I moaned as I ate the truffle.

"I don't know if I should be turned on or jealous." Ranger laughed.

"Okay, Batman. You got me up to your apartment. What did you want to talk to me about?" I asked.

Ranger leaned into my neck and kissed that sweet spot where my neck meets my shoulder. "There's been a change in my life that I need to talk to you about."

"Really?" I asked nervously. I had been confidant that he wanted to try to have a relationship with me, but now I was afraid that he was going to go on a long mission or leave Trenton permanently. "A change? Ranger, what's wrong? Are you leaving on a dangerous mission? Are you leaving Trenton permanently?"

"No, Babe. I'm not leaving Trenton. Actually, it's the opposite." Ranger said reaching for another truffle and feeding it to me. "The change is that my contract with the government is completed. I'm done with missions."

"No more going in the wind?" I asked.

Ranger laughed. "No more going in the wind. I actually tried to talk to you about it last week at the Bond's office, but you refused to come outside to talk to me, which brings me to the other thing I wanted to talk to you about."

"And that would be?"

"I know that I told you over and over again that my life doesn't lend itself to relationships. I couldn't stand the thought of leaving you to go on a mission with the possibility that I wouldn't come back to you. I tried to push you away, to push my feelings for you away, but the more I tried to push you away the more I was drawn to you. I can't tell you how many nights that you were with Joe that it took all my will power not to break in and drag you back to my apartment so I could show you how I feel about you." Ranger explained. "I should have never sent you back to Morelli. I didn't want to, but I was afraid. You are the only thing that has ever scared me."

"I scare you?" I questioned.

"I've never felt this way about anyone. When it comes to you and me, you have all the power. I thought that I was rejecting you, before you had a chance to reject me."

For a brief moment I couldn't decide if I was happy or pissed. On one hand Ranger has basically told me that he regretted pushing me away. On the other hand, I was pissed that he pushed me away without ever taking the time to ask about what I wanted.

"Ranger," I asked, "exactly how do you feel about me?"

"You don't know?" Ranger asked surprised.

"Ranger," I began, "you have always shown me how much you care about me. You've given me cars to destroy and gone out of your way to protect me. But the only time that you've ever told me how you feel about me, you've added qualifiers. I've lost count of how many times that you explained why you couldn't have a relationship with me."

"Babe," Ranger said turning me so that I was facing him. "I think now is a good time to explain the lavender roses."

I nodded to encourage him to continue.

"Lavender roses represent love at first sight. I never believed in love like that until I met you at that diner. The first time I saw you, I knew that you were the one that I was meant to spend the rest of my life with. The way you were so determined to become a bounty hunter, I knew that I had met my match. The reason that I discouraged you from going after Morelli was because I knew his about his ladies' man reputation. I wanted to keep you as far away from him as possible. Did you know that the night that he handcuffed you to the shower rod, I had to force myself to leave your apartment? I stood in your parking lot for an hour trying to talking myself into and then out of going back to your apartment."

"Really? I had no idea." I said amazed. If he would have just come back up to my apartment, I would have returned Morelli to system and never gave him another thought. "I always fought my feelings from you. After Scrog was when I finally admitted to myself that I loved you. Ranger, I think I know the answer to this, but I still need to ask. What exactly do you want to happen between us?"

"Babe, I know I don't deserve you, but would you be willing to give us a chance. My life is still dangerous. I still have enemies. But I don't want to waste another day. I need you. I love you. No qualifiers. Would you give me a chance?"

"What if someone from you past threatens me? Are you going to try to push me away to keep me safe?" I asked.

"No. I may ask you to go to a safe house, but I will never force you to do something that you don't want. You're a grown woman and have proven that you're capable of making your own decisions, whether I agree with you or not. A relationship is a two way street, I will respect your decision as long as you respect mine also." Ranger said looking at me intently.

"Ranger?"

"Yeah, Babe?"

"Does this mean I get to call you Carlos now?" I smiled.

"I would love it if you would call me Carlos." He said as his lips crashed onto mine.

I lost count of how long we sat on his couch kissing. I could feel his hands roaming over by body which was fine with me, because my hands were exploring his. I finally remembered my plan and pulled away from his kiss, leaving me breathless.

"Carlos?" I asked. Instead of answering, Carlos continued his assault on my neck. "Carlos?"

"Yeah, Babe?"

"You promised me that you would show me your wolf pack symbol. Could you show me now?"

"Babe," he said almost as a whine. "Can't it wait?"

"I would really like to see it now. Besides, I need to freshen up in your bathroom anyway. Please?" I smiled.

"Alright, I keep it in the safe in my home office. I'll be right back." Carlos said reluctantly pulling away.

Once he walked into his home office, I bolted to Carlos' bathroom. I quickly locked the bathroom door and began searching under the sink for my overnight bag. I had to hurry because I knew that lock would only keep Carlos out of the bathroom for an extra minute or two. I was wearing my Red Riding Hood costume from Halloween, including the boots. I looked in the mirror and realized that I was forgetting something, so I bent down and search the overnight bag. It didn't take me long to find the wolf necklace. Once I put the necklace on, I looked in the mirror one last time, fluffed my hair and went out to meet Carlos.

Carlos was standing by the window, looking out the window. As he continued to look out the window, he must have sensed my presence because he said, "I can't tell me how many times I have stared out these windows, praying that God would allow me a chance of a relationship with you."

"Carlos?"

Carlos turned around to face me. From across the room, I could see his eyes darken with desire.

"Carlos, what big eyes you have?" I smiled.

He laughed as he walked towards me and said, "The better to see you with, my Dear."

"Carlos, what big hands you have?" I said as he stood directly in front of me.

"Better to hold you with, my Dear?" He said as he wrapped his arms around me.

"Carlos, what big teeth you have?" I said.

"Better to eat you with, my Dear." He said as he leaned down crushing his lips to mine. Finally he pulled away and asked. "How long have you known?"

"The florists let it slip this morning that the twelve dozen roses were ordered by the same man that ordered the single peach rose and the two pick roses. But there's something I don't understand."

"What is it, Babe?"

"When I called you Halloween night, I asked you if you were at the club and you said no and that you were doing surveillance. You've never lied to me before, why did you lie to me then?" I asked.

"I didn't." He laughed. "You wouldn't talk to me at the Bond's office, so later I called Connie and asked what you're plans were for Halloween. She told me that the three of you were going to El Diablo and that you were going to be dressed as Red Riding Hood. I had already decided to try to convince you to have a relationship with me, but like I told you before you scare me. I was afraid that you would reject me, so I had Ella pick me up a wolf costume. I thought that way I could spend the evening with you and not worry about you rejecting me. Connie called me the next day and accused me of being the Wolf Man. I made her promise not to tell you. Connie actually threatened me and told me that I better not do anything that would hurt you. Connie has guts, Babe."

"That still doesn't explain why you lied to me." I countered.

"Babe, when I walked into the club, I saw you look around for me. I knew that you could sense my presence, just like I can sense yours. I knew when you excused yourself to the ladies room that you were actually going to call me. I stepped out the back door of the club so I wouldn't lie to you. When you asked if I was in the club I told you at that moment I was not in the club. I've never lied to you before and I have no intentions of starting now."

"I was the surveillance that you were doing?" I asked.

"Technically, yes. I was hoping that I could get some indication of whether or not I had a chance with you. I never spoke that night, because I knew that you would recognize my voice and blow my cover." He smiled.

"So Wolf Man, are you going to show me your proof of membership to the pack?" I asked.

"You've actually seen it before. I can't believe you never noticed it. I usually only wear it to business meetings for luck. I thought about wearing it tonight, but I didn't wasn't ready to give away that I was the Wolf Man." He said as he handed me his watch. I had seen him wear this watch before, but I had never noticed that the gold face had a golden wolf imprinted in it.

"Babe, how did you get your costume in my apartment? It's been weeks since you've been up to my apartment. Who helped you?" Carlos asked.

"I plead the fifth. I refuse to answer, so that I can protect my sources. I may need some help in the future to surprise you." I said returning his smile.

"I have ways of making you talk." Carlos said, giving me his wolf grin.

"I'll make you a deal. You can spend all night trying." I laughed, as he picked me up and carried me to his bedroom.

** And as they say in fairy tales, _"The lived Happily Ever After."_

A/N: I hoped you enjoyed Wolf Man. I may do a sequel, but at the moment I've working on a new story for Stephanie, Ranger, and Joe. If you have not had a chance to read Double Take and the sequel Maybe Baby, I would love to hear your thoughts on each of my stories.


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